On Campus and Online
In this week’s DC News webcast: SoMAD awards, Reading Week closures and your sports and entertainment update. This week’s webcast was produced by Ashley Anthony and the associate producer was Robynne Henry.
Josh Bickle showing his first set to improving the Student Association by making an Idea wall, for students to post ideas and suggestions.
Story video and image by: Britney Dunn
Josh Bickle wants to make Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) a better place. He’s currently running for Vice President, College and University Affairs for the Student Association (SA) and, if re-elected, he promises big changes on campus this year.
“My campaign focuses on three main platforms which is lowering fees, student investments and job creation.”
Bickle was the SA Vice President last year and he plans to use his experience as a way to make improvements.
Story and image by Ray McNeil
An uphill battle is never easy, and for the Durham Lords men’s basketball team, that’s exactly what they face in their upcoming opponents, the Georgian Grizzlies.
After their most recent defeats against Algonquin and Centennial, the team is still fighting for their first victory of the new year.
“They need to find a way to hopefully get back in the win-call. They’ve been far and few between this season,” said Athletic Director Ken Babcock.
Having only scored three victories since November, a win for the Lords at the January 23rd conference game against the Grizzlies will help give the Lords a push up in the standings. Currently the Lords are ranking eighth in the East Conference.
The current lineup for the 2012-13 Durham Lords men’s basketball team, located in F-Wing.
“Anyway they can work hard, and outplay a team, and steal a win on the road is what we’re all hoping for,” said Babcock.
Despite a underwhelming first half to the season, the head coach for the team, Desmond Rowley, has found much success with the Lords in the past, leading the team during the 2010-11 season to win their first David Stewart Tip-Off Tournament title in 13 years, as well as hosting the 2011 CCAA national championship for the first time in the school’s history.
In Rowley’s first year with the team, DC went 16-4 during the regular season, their best win record since 1997-98 season, and the Lords have qualified for the post season every year since Rowley began coaching the team.
Babcock explains that the East Conference is a very difficult one to play in. “This time of year it’s the veteran teams, and the experienced teams, that seem to have the upper hand in the second half of the college basketball season, and we have a very young team, so there’s lots of challenges for us.”
The game will be played at Georgian College in Barrie, with a start time scheduled for 8 p.m. It will also start the Lords off on a four-game road trip, where they will be playing teams from Seneca, Cambrian, and Loyalist College.
Babcock hopes to make the playoffs this year, and going forward he said everyone is “keeping their fingers crossed.”
Peggy Forbes posts a flyer with information on Aboriginal Awareness Day.
Story, image and video by Britney Dunn
Durham College’s Aboriginal Student Centre and UOIT’s Office of Aboriginal Initiatives are inviting everyone to come out to celebrate Aboriginal Awareness Day on January 24th.
“It’s a day to celebrate our culture and to invite all the rest of the student body to come and get a glimpse of what were about,” said Durham College aboriginal student advisor, Peggy Forbes.
The event, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre, will have food and several different activities for students to take part in.
Writing specialist for SALS, Leslie Linstrum.
Story, image and video by Ray McNeil.
While the Toronto District School Board searches for a person to replace former Director of Education Chris Spence, the question remains: How can someone in such an important position plagiarize for so long without getting caught?
“In some ways it’s surprising, in other ways it’s not,” said writing specialist Leslie Linstrum. “It’s disappointing, and hopefully is a wakeup call to people to have more integrity when they’re researching and writing.”
Linstrum works at the Student Academic Learning Services (SALS) on campus, which provides online materials and in-person workshops to educate students on what plagiarism is, and how they can avoid it.
Producer: Kylie Wazonek
Assistant Producer: Kyla Morgan
Story and image by Caley Bedore.
A challenge women might face in the media industry.
Hey girls, it’s been a wild ride. We have fought hard over the years to gain equality and have certainly come a long way. However, as I am packing up my books this year and getting ready for my life as a journalist in the “real world”, I have been starting to notice something frustrating. The world is still run by men, especially in the news industry – where I will hopefully be working.
In the media world it is very easy to see that my hopeful career as a broadcast journalist will probably have a short shelf life. If you are an overweight, white male then you have nothing to worry about and will likely be able to read the news until you croak right there on air. But, if you are a woman – your success reporting on-camera is probably tapping out as soon as everyone gets an HD-TV and a wrinkle decides to appear on your face. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.
Video by Nathan MacKinnon
Some changes happened to Riot Radio over Reading Week. DC News reporter Nathan MacKinnon has the details about the screen and ticker that has been installed.
Student Melinda Kelly helps out lost students during the UOIT grad fair, held on Jan. 18.
Story, photo and slideshow by Matt Bird
At 8:50 the UOIT east atrium was a ghost town. A lone UOIT official worked feverishly setting up chairs and tables, but the area was little more than a quiet skeleton.
Two hours later, however, the atrium sprang to life. Students milled methodically around information-packed stands, asking smart questions about their futures and getting smart answers. This was the UOIT Graduate Studies Information Fair, and it strove to inform – not to mention draw recruits to graduate programs.
True to its name, the second annual Information Fair gave students a chance to question faculty about UOIT’s various graduate programs. Queries about admission requirements, areas of research and programs in the works were all fair game.
And everyone was invited. “There’s a pretty good mixture of everyone here,” said Michelle Heslip, who helped organize the event. “It’s mainly meant for third and fourth year students but anyone can come in and have a look.”
Interested students had plenty to look at, with 23 programs represented – including a few not yet officially on the UOIT roster.
“Two are still pending approval,” said Heslip. “First the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies has to come in and look the programs over, ask questions and give feedback. Students can apply for these programs if they’re interested, but they won’t be approved yet.”
Each faculty in UOIT was represented by teachers and graduate students alike. The students, enthused by their respective areas of research, eagerly told anyone who asked about their particular field.
Jennie Eastcott in Material Sciences, for example, is busy researching and improving fuel cells. Computer Sciences student Rishikesan Kamaleswaran looks at information collected by sensors connected to the human body, specifically infants. And Tara Litherland is busy learning about new technology in the classroom.
The various programs operate quite differently from one another. Some, like the Faculty of Education’s programs, operate during more normal class hours on the campus. Kamaleswaran’s days, on the other hand, are more like progress reports on his work with his colleagues.
“I’m a Human Sciences student so my days start in the afternoon,” he said with a laugh. “Different students start at different times. Some students start at 8 o’clock in the morning. We organize our meetings via email then come in and share what we’ve seen in the last week.”
How long students take to complete their graduate studies also varies depending on your schedule. “If you want to take longer, you can take longer,” said Eastcott. “If you want you can cram it together and get a thesis done quickly. Is it recommended? Probably not. It’d be pretty intense.”
In other words, your experience will vary greatly depending on your program. The one thing these graduates have in common, however, is a love for the work.
“I love it,” said Litherland, who wants to be a teacher. ”I’m being exposed to a lot of technology and it’s really exciting. It’s encouraging me to use it in the classroom in my future.”
Come back next week to read our new online stories. New posts will go up every Tuesday. As well, there will be a weekly webcast, documentaries, maps and lots more.
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